Simply Delicious: A crowd-pleasing chicken parmesan

Saturday

Mar 3, 2018 at 4:57 PM

By Laurie Higgins

It sounds silly, but when you sit in your living room in yoga pants and a comfy sweater and hit the word send on your laptop, it doesn’t always occur to you that people will actually react to the things you write.

But they do.

With that in mind, I would like to thank all the readers who have reached out to me over the years. It’s been very gratifying getting to know you a bit.

People have asked about our dogs and chickens and shared recipes and stories about their lives. Sometimes I get questions about an ingredient or a recipe, which I am always happy to answer.

This year I’ve heard from more people than usual. After I wrote about our difficulties finding a perfect Christmas tree to cut down, a reader mailed an article from the "Fairhaven Neighborhood News" about the Douglas Tree Farm in Fairhaven with the words "Next Christmas, maybe" written on top. The tree farm donates all proceeds to ALS research, including the $17,562 they made this past year. Next year, indeed!

Another reader wanted to know what would be a good substitute for the herbs in duxelles seasoning in our scallops Saint Jacques recipe. She wanted to make it for her husband’s birthday, but didn’t have time to mail order the seasoning.

Since the first three ingredients in the seasoning are porcini, shitake and bolete mushrooms, I thought she could safely leave it out. It just intensifies the mushroom flavor with dried mushrooms.

There is also tarragon and lemon zest in the mix, so a pinch of both of those might kick in up a notch.

Then there was a sweet email from a woman who is wintering in Florida. She said reading my column is like a comforting visit that connects her with her home in Brewster. When I recently changed my Facebook photo to a picture of the Kitchen Genius and me, a reader from California wrote that she was glad to see the faces behind the recipes.

Before the Super Bowl, my editor emailed me that someone wanted my chicken parmesan recipe. I looked through my files and realized I have never written about chicken parmesan, even though we make it frequently. It turns out she was actually looking for my recipe for chicken wings, which I sent right out.

Writing has always been my preferred method of communication because you can edit it to make sure it says exactly what you mean. It’s been really nice having people communicate back, so anyone who has a question about a recipe, please feel free to email me at

lauriehiggins@comcast.net. There isn’t much I love more than talking about food.

Since I haven’t written about chicken parmesan before, it felt like it was time to whip up a batch. This is an easy recipe to make for a crowd.

We made it for eight people on Sunday, by just doubling the recipe.

We use the chicken breasts by Purdue called "Perfect Portions." They are smaller than the usual chicken breasts you find, so you may need to adjust the cooking time if you use larger breasts.

One of the best things about this product is that each breast is packaged separately. That means you can pound out the breasts right in a confined package without worrying about chicken juice splattering all over your kitchen.

Tomato sauce is a recipe I constantly tinker with, so it you have your own favorite sauce, please feel free to use that. Jar sauce is also fine if you’re in a hurry, but be sure to check the sodium content. We’re trying to cut down on salt so we avoid brands where sodium per serving is a lot higher than the calories per serving. The differences between brands is pretty shocking.

Chicken Parmesan

Serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups panko crumbs

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup tomato sauce (plus more if you are serving pasta with it)

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Pound chicken breasts until they are an even thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Place flour and panko on two separate plates. Add garlic powder to the flour and basil to the panko crumbs. Beat eggs in a bowl large enough to fit chicken breasts. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then the eggs and then the panko crumbs until nicely coated.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large skillet with a thick bottom over medium high heat. Sauté chicken breasts for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet. Top each breast with 1/4 cup of sauce and then 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until chicken is cooked through and cheese in melted. To serve, place a ladle of sauce on the plate and top with chicken breast.

Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 quart of whole tomatoes in their juice

1/4 cup red wine

1 teaspoon salt

6 grinds black pepper

1 teaspoon pure cane sugar

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

Dash red pepper flakes

1/2 box pasta, cooked according to box directions

Heat olive oil in medium Dutch oven. Sauté onions until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until just fragrant. Add tomatoes and crush them with the back of a large spoon. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Simmer sauce over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least 2 hours. Blend sauce with an immersion wand-style blender until smooth.